Try it Tuesday: Crossfit YKV

Okay ladies and gents – I know I’ve been pretty adamant about not wanting to do Crossfit because well, let’s be honest, the thought of Crossfit can be quite intimidating. Whenever I think about Crossfit, I think of people at the top of their fitness game lifting like a champ. Me? I’m known as Little Miss Noodle Arms. Yes I have a background in swimming and I used to lift weights but not to the intensity that I imagined crossfit to be.

Well today I’m stating that I was WRONG. Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure to visit Crossfit YKV. Crossfit YKV boutique-style facility located in Yorkville, Toronto. When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was how bright it was (total opposite of the crossfit dungeons that I’ve seen) with it’s floor to ceiling windows allowing natural light to be let in. Side note, the windows also gives you the opportunities to see all the adorable puppies that walk by – no joke, I saw like 5 and I’m sure it made my endorphin levels go up even more while working out. This location also has niffy built in Brita water stations for bottle refills. There were so many little touches that made the gym. The changing rooms has keypad locks so you don’t need to bring your own lock. There’s free towel service. The whole nine yards.

Anyways, Blair Lyon coached us through our workout. Blair has experience as both a powerlifter and an amateur boxer, and has been a CrossFit instructor since 2011 in addition to having competed in CrossFit competitions across Canada before opening CrossFit YKV. One thing that I find very important is a quality trainer. I have mobility issues and there are workouts that I’m unable to do and having someone helping me modify workouts is extremely helpful. Blair was very attentive and did an amazing job showing us how to do the workout and went above and beyond afterwards showing us all the fun things you can do at his gym. With workouts like these, it’s so important to find someone who is knowledgeable and helpful to ensure that you do not get hurt. I’m not a fan of trainers who push you past your limit and increase your chances of injury. Blair was not only knowledgeable but he knew when to back off and allowed me to rest and go at my own pace whenever I needed to (this gal only did half of the squats because my quads were on literally fire after the first 4 sets and I couldn’t get back into the squatting position. There was no judgement when I needed to rest and not continue with the squats which I really appreciated)

Anyways, we started with warm up where we jumped roped, did air squats, burpees across the floor, and what I personally call the spiderman crawl to make sure our limbs would be ready for what was to come.

We did front squats with an overhead lift (noodle arms here definitely did not start with the olympic bar nor with any plates on it, they had 3 different bar weights so you can work your way up).

Then we did some core work with what I like to call rocking baby where you rock on your back. This was probably my favourite.

Afterwards we worked on handstands. While I couldn’t knock out a handstand pushup, I was able to practice by using the box to work on my arm strength. As Michelle said, it “looked easy enough” but guys, it was a solid workout just holding the position! (Note, Michelle retracted this statement shortly after) Michelle found it hilarious that with my short height, I had to wiggle my body over the box and practically roll off after but in my defense, I’m like barely 5’3” and lack hip mobility haha. It was amazing watching others so effortless and gracefully go into a handstand. The closest I’ve been to a handstand in the last 3 years was probably going round-off as I re-lived my more flexible and tumble-able days.

Anyways, we alternated between the handstand practicing and reserve jack-knife with the exercise ball.

Then we moved to the burpees. Guys. Have you seen me do a burpee? Well let me just say it went waaaaay better than I expected. The last time I did burpees were probably in highschool gym class and I sucked at them. Surprisingly I did them decently! I mean I had to take more breaks than others but I finished it feeling pretty good about myself. We did three variation. Burpees on their own, then burpees with a plate, and burpees with a box jump.

And then class was over! So it was time to play! We got to try out a little bit of everything. We got to go on the ropes, the gymnastic rings, climbing peg board, and more! It was so much fun.

Overall I very much enjoyed my first crossfit session. I didn’t want to leave CrossFit YKV and just wanted to stay and dangle on ropes. People were supportive, the environment was inviting, and the gym itself is very accessible. It’s approximately 800m from Bay Station in addition to having street parking nearby.

Crossfit YKV is now opened. It is located at 175 Avenue Road. TEL: 647 362 2700. Social Media: @CrossfitYKV